Communication networks route data packets from a source to a destination using one or more networking protocols, such as the Internet protocol (IP). One example of communication networks that utilizes the Internet protocol is the Internet, which enables communication between computing devices that may be spread throughout the world. As a result, the popularity of the Internet has been steadily increasing.
Generally, to connect to an IP network, each device utilizes an IP address to identify it to other devices that are present on that network. Hence, a larger number of IP addresses are needed as an increasing number of devices are connected to computer networks, such as the Internet. However, expanding the number of IP addresses may create problems for the current network traffic management devices. For example, the typical layer 2 and layer 3 devices (such as routers or bridges) not only forward frames/packets based on the destination address, but also classify the packets based on various fields present in the packet in accordance with some classification rule(s). The classification is generally done by using a ternary content addressable memory (TCAM). The maximum width of the TCAM depends upon the sum of all the packet fields that are to be used for classification. Therefore, as the address size of each IP packet increases (e.g., due to increased number of addressable nodes), wider TCAMs may have to be utilized. The TCAMs are specialized devices which can be costly, both from a manufacturing perspective as well as integrated circuit (IC) die real estate perspective. Also, a wider TCAM may consume additional power or generate more heat when in operation. Hence, as the size of each IP packet increases, the monetary and technical costs of TCAMs utilized in network traffic management devices may also increase.